It is natural that we should think, of Elisabeth and Anna the prophetess together, for they shared that deep spiritual insight which enabled them unquestioningly to accept the coming of Jesus. The one joyously foretold his birth; the other readily accepted him while he was yet an infant as the eagerly awaited Messiah.
Like her husband, Zacharias, the priest, Elisabeth was of priestly descent, and both were noted for their piety, being "righteous before God," as Luke informs us (1:6), "walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless." No children had been born to them. But one day, while Zacharias, as part of the office of priest, was offering incense in the temple, he was informed by the angel Gabriel that his prayers had been heard, and that his wife would bear a son. When she knew that she had indeed conceived, in spite of her age and reputed barrenness, Elisabeth thanked God with profound gratitude.
Elisabeth's home was somewhere in the hills which lie to the south of Jerusalem. It was there, some months later, that she was sought out by her youthful kinswoman, Mary, who had just been informed by the angel that she was to be the mother of Jesus. Before she could state her errand, Elisabeth's spiritual intuition led her to foresee and confirm what lay in store for Mary. She uttered three distinct beatitudes: "Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit of thy womb. . . . Blessed is she that believed."
